I was speaking to my girlfriend about this topic the other day when I spent less then 15 bucks on a collection of some of the best indie games that I have played in awhile: Bastion, Botonicula, Machinarium, Samorost 2, and Windosill. Amanita Design ran a bundle pack in which you bought Botonicula for above the average price and received all the games plus a host of other things for free. You could decide how much of the profits from the games went to the developer and how much of it went to a non profit donation. Its an example of one of the great things that the indie publishers bring to the table.
Pirating games will always be a big issue for a lot of people. Especially people who are on a limited income. I myself feel perfectly justified in telling people that it is okay to pirate big company games. But I will always bash anyone who pirates an indie game and I will always no matter what buy any indie game that I come across.
The reason I will buy them is twofold. Indie games tend to be cheap and be just as good as a big budget game when it comes to story and game play value. Sure it might not have as spiffy graphics or CGI but it still rocks in the enjoyment factor. The second factor is that they brings tons of ideas and innovations to the table. Look at Minecraft for example, when I bought the game it was still only 5 bucks. Now it's earned over a million dollars and costs somewhere in the range of 20-30 dollars and the guy that made it has now started his own company, has a crew working for him, and even has a huge event dedicated to Minecraft. Now all kinds of games are taking the innovative things that he did in the game and are bringing them into their own games.
The supporting of indie developers, especially those that have a vision and listen to the feedback of their players is crucial in the development of the direction that we want gaming to go in the future. Do we want shelves stocked with FPS shooters or do we want a wide variety of games from 5-50 dollars with every genre mixed into it? Do we want developers that only care about the big buck and constantly rehash the same formula for the games they make the money on? Or do we want developers that aren't scared to always take a chance and try something new and innovative. Do we want developers that ignore the people that want to play their game or do we want developers that actually listen to the input that their players give them? I don't know about you, but I know exactly what I want to see the gaming community growning into. Freedom of expression with tons of people making video games both big and small and listening to their player base and trying out new ideas to make a better gaming experience.
If you have read this then you gained 36/200 experience towards level 2. Congratulations.
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